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Manga
Wild Adapter is a Japanese manga series by Kazuya Minekura set in Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan in the mid-1990s. There is also an alternate universe doujinshi and two episode OVA called Shiritsu Araiso Koutou Gakko Seitokai Shikkoubu. Although originally serialized in a boy's love anthology magazine, the content of the manga mixes seinen action and mystery with shōnen-ai themes and thus does not fall clearly into either category. The volumes are stand alones, each with its own storyline and theme that fit into the broader arc of the general plot, which has Kubota and Tokito, the main characters, investigating a mysterious drug, 'W·A', and finding out about Tokito's past before his amnesia. As such, the overall series is largely character-driven, rather than action-driven, and other events and issues are shown as part of the lives of the main characters. The storytelling is done through a different side character for each volume, and the author has described the series as "the lives of the protagonists as seen, and described by an onlooker". There is plenty of violence and bloodshed in the manga, which also deals with serious issues, and a theme for each volume, such as the cult of religion, the power of words, the struggle for survival. The yakuza underworld serves as a setting for the series, but it is not the main focal point. Rather, it is the interactions between the two protagonists, and the exploration of their characters. The artstyle of the manga is stark black and white with clean sharp lines, and there is less shading or greytones. Keeping in line with Minekura's style the characters are highly detailed, with emphasis on facial features, especially the hair, and anatomically accurate bodies. The backgrounds are also highly detailed and portray the Tokyo urban landscape very realistically. A unique feature of the manga has all the pages and spaces outside the panels coloured black, a technique usually used in manga only to reflect a past event or a flashback. This work was originally serialized in Japan in Chara Comics and was published by Tokuma Shoten. The series is licensed in North America by Tokyopop, the first volume of which was published in January 2007. There are 5 volumes which were originally published between 2001 and 2006. The series is also published in English by Chuang Yi and is published in East Asia. Story "W·A," later identified as "Wild Adapter," is the name of a dangerous drug which transforms its users into an animalistic state; the users exhibit superhuman strength and a berserker mentality until the drug causes his or her organs to explode, effectively killing them. The corpses left behind by W·A are covered in fur and sport cat-like claws. The police are baffled by W•A even as they investigate the remains of W·A users, and the Yakuza wants it. Two powerful rival yakuza groups, the Izumokai and the Toujougumi are fighting to figure out and gain control of the source of W·A, a task made harder by the fact that no user of W·A have managed to stay alive after consuming the drug. Amid this, 17-year-old Kubota, the first of two main protagonists, have somehow managed to stumble into the position of Head of the Izumokai youth group, despite not being a gang member before that. He is aided by the second-in-command, Komiya, in his yakuza jobs and it is through Komiya that he knows of the existence of W·A. Komiya is killed by the rival Toujougumi gang when investigating W·A, and Kubota quits the gang after Komiya's death, but not before taking out twelve high-ranking members of the Toujougumi gang, and disappears from the yakuza world. Soon after, Kubota picks up a stranger with amnesia whom he names Tokito, and they start living together. Tokito has no idea of his identity, or why his right hand is a furry, clawed paw identical to the animalistic bodies of dead W·A users, yet he is still alive. Kubota and Tokito then set out on a mission to investigate W·A, hoping to discover Tokito's past at the same time. The manga details their quest to investigate every victim of W·A, and following up on any leads provided by Kou, a drugstore owner who is Kubota's current employer, or Kasai, Kubota's detective uncle. These tips however are usually red herrings or traps and lead nowhere. In the process, Kubota and Tokito often get mixed up with the yakuza who are just as eager to seek W·A. Sanada, leader back of Izumokai gang and Kubota's former employer is fascinated by Kubota, and constantly keeps tabs on him. Sekiya, leader of Toujougumi just wants to get his hands on W·A. In their various clashes with the yakuza Kubota and Tokito rarely emerge unscathed, but they always manage to survive and make it out somehow, ready to follow the next lead. Ova Wild Adapter's characters first made their debut in one of Minekura's earlier works, a doujinshi titled Araiso Private High School Student Council Executive Committee'' . In ''Executive Committee, Kubota and Tokitoh are high school students who are on the Executive Committee, a kind of juvenile police force. The stories in Executive Committee are largely silly and plotless, such as resolving mysteries over a cheat-sheet for an exam, or acting as bodyguards for a spoiled teen idol. Executive Committee is also a two-episode OVA.